


Year 5

by SingingInTheRaiin



Series: Minerva McGonagall and the Troublesome Boy [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Draco loves Harry, Dumbledore isn't going to get fired, Gen, Horcruxes, Lucius Malfoy loves his son, M/M, Manipulation, Nightmares, Prophecies, Protective Draco Malfoy, Young Love, and Umbridge is out before the DA comes into existence, and finally says it out loud, it can be difficult to accept new ideas, since the official opinion is that Voldemort has returned, somehow one of the longer books became my shortest chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 07:15:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18615763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: Year 5





	Year 5

Harry and Draco both landed their brooms down in the yard, and there was a bright red flush to both of their cheeks. As soon as they’d dismounted, Draco rushed to pull Harry into a tight hug and give him a long kiss. He only reluctantly pulled away when he heard someone pointedly clearing their throat, and he turned to see McGonagall standing there. It was somewhat awkward to be caught snogging by one of his professors, but any amount of awkwardness was worth it when it meant spending time with Harry.

Harry grinned at his guardian. “I just kicked his butt in backyard quidditch.”

“I wouldn’t call it that, exactly,” Draco grumbled, but there was a smile on his face that gave away the fact he wasn’t actually bothered. After a moment, Draco realized that something was wrong with McGonagall’s face. Instead of her usual stern expression was something softer, and even though he knew that McGonagall loved Harry, it still felt weird to ever see her look anything less than slightly annoyed. “What’s going on?”

She sighed. “Harry, I’m sure that you can recall your godfather, and how he miraculously escaped his execution?” Something in the way she said that made Draco feel pretty sure that she knew the two boys were involved in that. Harry just nodded once, staring at her curiously. He’d been exchanging letters with his godfather since last summer, and had even floo called with the man a couple of times. “Well he has a house, located in a muggle city of all things, and legally it is yours. Since you will be turning fifteen soon, I thought that it would be a good time for you to go and see the place.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “Oh, uh, okay. Sure, yeah, I’d love to.” 

“Excellent. We’ll be leaving in ten minutes.”

Harry’s eyes widened even further. “Oh, you meant like right now? Okay. Wait, can Draco come too?”

McGonagall smiled. “I had already assumed that he would.” Then she turned to head back into the house. 

Once she was out of sight, Draco resumed kissing Harry, until they were both returning to the house breathlessly. They propped their brooms up in the closet near the entrance from the backyard, and then headed into the living room where the fireplace was. McGonagall was already waiting for them there. “So what’s the address?”

“We cannot floo there, and I cannot tell you where the house is located.” Both Harry and Draco looked curious, so she elaborated. “It is protected by many things at the moment, including a fidelius charm, which means that the location can only be revealed by the secret-keeper.”

Harry reached out to take Draco’s hand, and Draco gave it a comforting squeeze. “Hopefully this time you knew better than to trust the secret to a literal rat?”

She nodded once. “Yes. We all learn from the mistakes of our pasts. Now both of you take my arm. We are going to apparate as close to the location as we can get, and once we arrive there, the secret-keeper will divulge the secret so that you may see the house and enter it. After this first time, you will be able to floo out of the house, but you will never be able to floo to it, as an added security measure.”

Both boys grabbed hold of her extended arm, and then closed their eyes to prepare for the jerking, twisting, inside out feeling that came from apparition. A few seconds later, they opened their eyes to find themselves on a normal looking street. There were plenty of people walking around, but their eyes all seemed to pass right over the three magical people standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

Soon, Dumbledore was standing in front of them, his usual pleasant smile on his face. “It is good to see you Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy.” Then he turned and raised his wand, flicking it once. Draco watched as it looked like a house seemed to appear out of nowhere, shoving aside the houses on either side of it. Draco had never actually seen a building under the fidelius charm before, and had to admit that it looked pretty neat. 

They walked inside, and Draco immediately noticed how run down the place looked. As if it hadn’t been maintained at all in years. Well, considering the fact that Sirius Black had been in prison for thirteen years, that made sense. 

Dumbledore led them into a living room that would have looked nice under other circumstances. He was surprised to see Mad Eye Moody (presumably the real one this time) and Remus Lupin, along with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks. It was an eclectic group, to say the least. Oh and there, behind Moody, was Sirius Black himself. Personally, Draco thought it was a bit foolish to hide out in his family home, but what did Draco know about being a fugitive?

Once the others in the room realized that there were newcomers, they all looked over practically at the same time. Tonks jumped up, hair turning bright pink as she hurried over to Draco to pull him into a hug. “Hey there cousin! I didn’t know that you were going to be here!” Draco awkwardly reached up to return the hug, even though he found it weird since he barely even knew this woman.

Meanwhile, Harry had spotted Sirius and rushed over to his godfather excitedly, hugging both him and Lupin and giving them big grins. Draco was glad that Harry was getting a chance to see the people he cared about. 

After everybody had finished being acquainted, they all settled down so that Dumbledore could explain to them the real reason that they had all been gathered together like this. As soon as he’d seen all the people in the house, Draco had known that this wasn’t about Harry looking over property, and he was curious to find out what was actually going on.

The headmaster explained to them that even though the official consensus was that Voldemort was back, there were still a lot of people, in the Ministry and otherwise, who strongly believed that to be false. Draco clenched his jaw in anger at the thought of so many people whispering behind Harry’s back about how he was just an attention seeker. 

When the night was over, and everyone had gotten their fill of updates, Draco and Harry were told to go upstairs to room with the others. Harry told Draco to go on ahead without him, saying he wanted to ask Dumbledore a quick question. They shared a long look and then Draco nodded, heading up the stairs alone, ignoring the portrait screaming loudly at him. He found a few Weasleys and Granger all leaning over the bannister, waiting for him. “Malfoy,” Granger said slightly less coldly than the last time they’d seen each other. 

The twin Weasleys (not that it was easy to make the distinction when the entire redheaded family looked the same) were both grinning mischievously as they asked what had been talked about. Draco ignored them as he waited for Harry to get upstairs as well, and then he dragged Harry into one of the bedrooms. Even though there were three beds in the room, he locked the door behind them so that just the two of them could share it. 

Harry had a slightly worried look on his face as they sank down onto one of the beds together, both of them still fully dressed. “What do you think it is that he wants?”

Draco shrugged as he pulled Harry down and wrapped him securely in his arms. “I’m not sure. But whatever it is, we won’t let him have it. Just trust me, Harry. I’m going to take care of you, I promise.” When Harry didn’t say anything about whatever he had asked the headmaster about, Draco assumed that it was a private or unimportant matter, and decided not to say anything about it either. 

,,,

It felt like Harry had been avoiding him for a few weeks now, and Draco had passed through anger and straight into fear. Had he done something wrong? Did Harry not want to be with him anymore? Their confrontation was rather more explosive than Draco had planned for, and Harry was ready to storm away.

Draco reached out to grab Harry’s hand, and the boy flinched away so violently that Draco froze in place and just blinked a few times. “What-?” 

“It’s nothing!” Harry snapped. 

Should Draco keep pushing on a matter that Harry clearly didn’t want to talk about? He knew that he should just respect Harry’s wish for privacy, but he couldn’t help feeling terrified at the idea of something being horribly wrong and him not knowing anything about it. He slowly reached forward again, giving Harry plenty of time to pull away. “What’s going on with you, Harry? Whatever it is, I promise that I just want to help you.” Harry didn’t say anything, but he let Draco gently take hold of his hand. Draco gave a gentle squeeze, like he normally did, but Harry winced slightly, and Draco frowned. He reached forward with his other hand to roll up Harry’s sleeve, and then held Harry’s hand up. He didn’t have to look very closely to see the bright red marks etched into the back. He bent his head forward to press a kiss against the injury, and then moved to pull Harry into a hug. “Who did this to you?” He was beyond furious, but wasn’t going to let Harry see even an ounce of that anger, lest he assume that it was aimed towards him. 

,,,

Lucius was so happy just to have Draco actually talk to him that he promised to look into the Dolores Umbridge situation right away, no questions asked.

,,,

Draco was woken up by the feeling of someone struggling and thrashing against him, and he blinked sleepily a few times before he got smacked in the stomach by a flailing arm, which woke him up the rest of the way. Clearly Harry was suffering from a nightmare, and Draco wasn’t entirely sure what to do. Harry had had plenty of nightmares before, and Draco always felt so helpless during them. Harry’s mind was one of the few places that he couldn’t go to protect his boy.

Draco cast a silencing charm around the bed to avoid waking up the other boys in the dorm, and then shook Harry’s shoulders until he finally woke up, gasping for breath like he’d just run around the entire castle, eyes flicking around the room wildly, not really taking anything in. Draco kept murmuring soft platitudes, about how Harry was safe, and at school, and in bed with Draco.

It felt like it took forever for Harry to finally catch his breath, and he slowly moved to sit up, reaching up to press his arm against his sweaty forehead. “I think Voldemort’s snake is going to kill someone. I don’t know who, though. I didn’t recognize him.” 

“It was just a bad dream-” Draco started, like he usually did.

But Harry quickly shook his head. “I don’t think that it was just a dream. It felt so real, Draco. It felt like I was the snake. I felt my fangs sinking into that man over and over and…” he trailed off as his eyes started to water up.

As much as Draco hated to admit it, he knew that this wasn’t the kind of problem he could just fix on his own. He sighed as he thought about what to do. “Would you rather go to McGonagall or Snape right now?” Those were both adults that he knew he could trust, both with Harry’s safety and in a more general sense. 

Harry thought about it for a moment before whispering, “McGonagall.”

Draco nodded, and pulled Harry out of bed, walking through the hallways of the dungeon so that they could head towards McGonagall’s living quarters. Unfortunately, they were caught pretty quickly, and it was Severus standing there, arms over his chest. “It’s a little late for a stroll, don’t you think?”

Draco held Harry close to him. “I think he needs help.”

,,,

When Severus was told to teach Harry the skill of Occlumency, Draco insisted on getting his own lessons as well. Maybe there was a way to protect Harry from his own head after all.

,,,

Draco almost felt bad that the only times he’d gotten in touch with his parents all year was when they needed something from him, but then he’d remember how they just stood by and watched as Voldemort killed Harry, and all his sympathy would evaporate away. But this time was different. If his parents actually listened to him about this, and did what they could to help, then Draco would seriously consider forgiving them for the past. He’d never forget what they’d done, of course, but he might be willing to move on from it all.

Lucius was waiting for him in Dumbledore’s office, and Dumbledore quietly excused himself to give the father and son some time to talk in private. Not that it was real privacy with all the headmaster portraits on the walls that were sure to tell Dumbledore everything, but it was a nice gesture anyways.

Lucius’ eyes ran over Draco quickly, taking in the sight of him. Draco hadn’t gone home over the winter holidays, so it had been quite a while since either of his parents had last seen him. And even over the summer, it felt like he had spent more time at Harry’s than at home. “I’m not sure if you’re going to give me what I’m going to ask for, but I figure that it’s worth at least asking anyways.” He took a deep breath in, then slowly let it out. “Harry’s been having nightmares about Sirius Black being tortured in the Ministry of Magic. The Department of Mysteries, more specifically. Is that really going to happen?” 

They both stared at each for what felt like ages, and then Lucius sank down into one of the open seats in front of the headmaster’s desk. “Why do you care so much, Draco? Having an indiscretion with a boy is one thing, but this is… I don’t understand this, this infatuation you have.”

Draco smiled before he could stop himself, the way that he often did when he thought about Harry. “I love him,” he responded simply. It was the first time he’d said it out loud, but he knew immediately that it was the complete and utter truth. “For as long as I live I’m always going to do everything that I can to protect him. And if anything ever happens to him, I will do everything in my power to destroy the ones responsible.”

Lucius looked away, a small frown settled on his face. “He wants a certain prophecy, but only the people they’re about can listen to them. The dreams of Black are just a lure to get Potter there.”

“What kind of prophecy is it?”

Lucius shrugged. “I don’t know. I only know that it is about Potter and about You-Know-Who.”

Draco stared at his father, who still refused to meet his eyes. “How do I know that I can trust you?”

Lucius clenched his jaw as he finally looked at Draco again. “You are my only child. If the only way to keep you in my life is to accept Potter as well, then that’s what I will do. Breaking away from my boss will not be easy, but I swear that I will do it, Draco. No matter what else you think, I hope that you can at least believe that I do love you.”

Draco blinked back tears, and suddenly realized just how much he had missed his parents. He gulped once, and even though he knew that it wasn’t part of the proper behavior he had been raised to follow, he threw himself forward to wrap his arms around Lucius. Lucius seemed uncertain about how to respond, but finally returned the hug, and they both remained there like that for several long seconds. “Thank you, Father.” Lucius’ arms tightened just a bit at that last word, and Draco sighed, content in the knowledge that maybe it was possible to have everything he wanted.

,,,

Draco stood by and watched as Lucius explained to Harry that it was all just a trap, and that Sirius was still safe in hiding, wherever that might be. Draco was ready to step in the moment things seemed to go wrong, but for once in his life, everything seemed to happen pretty smoothly. Harry accepted Lucius’ words, and then thanked him for the information before heading out of the office.

Draco said his goodbyes to his father, and then hurried after Harry. “So perhaps this will be the first school year we have that doesn’t end in dramatics and life threatening situations, eh?”

Harry shrugged. “Maybe.”

Draco narrowed his eyes and came to an abrupt stop, grabbing Harry’s arm to yank him to a stop as well, and then stomping around so that they were facing each other and he could look directly into those bright green eyes. “‘Maybe’? Please don’t tell me that you’re planning on doing anything stupid.” When Harry didn’t respond, Draco threw his hands up in exasperation. “Why am I even asking? Of course you’re going to do something stupid. That’s all you ever seem to do! Sirius is safe!”

“I know, I know. But…” Harry bit his lip and tilted his head to look down at the floor. “Aren’t you even the slightest bit curious about what that prophecy might say?”

Draco shook his head. “Who cares what it says? It’ll happen whether you know about it or not. And knowing how much trouble you’re always getting yourself into, I think we’re both a lot better off not knowing what major disaster is coming next. I’d like to actually be able to sleep in peace at night, thank you very much.”

Harry gulped, and then looked up and down the hallway to make sure it was completely empty. Then he grabbed Draco’s wrist and tugged him into an empty classroom, quietly closing and locking the door behind him before turning to face Draco. “I have to talk to you about something, Draco. It has to do with what I saw last year, after I got hit with the killing curse.” He took a deep breath in, and then slowly let it out. “Have you ever heard of a horcrux?”

,,,

This was probably one of the stupidest things they’d ever done, and they’d managed to do quite a lot of stupid things throughout their time at Hogwarts. But Draco kept his chin tipped up, and mirrored his father’s confident walk as they powered through the Ministry, in the middle of the workday. 

Quite a few people pointed after them to whisper and make speculations about what was going on, but Draco ignored all of that, and glanced over at Harry to indicate that he should do the same. Harry gave a tiny nod, and easily matched Draco’s pace.

Getting all three of them into the Department of Mysteries took some wheedling, bribery, and promises of favors owed, but Lucius did it all without batting an eye, and soon they were walking through the giant maze of shelves that were all filled with glowing white orbs. It felt like it would be all too easy to get lost in a place like this, and Draco held Harry’s hand to make sure that they didn’t get separated from each other.

Then they finally came to a stop in front of one of what had to be thousands of identical shelves. Lucius nodded towards one of the orbs. “There it is.” He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I’ll wait at the end of this stack.” 

The small plaque on the shelf beneath the orb Lucius had indicated said ‘S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D/Dark Lord/and (?) Harry Potter’. Harry took a deep breath before reaching out to pick up the orb, and he looked down at it. “So what do I do with it now?” then his eyes widened as he stared intently at the orb. 

Draco waited patiently until Harry finally looked up again, eyes even wider than usual. “What did it say?” Harry gulped, and for a moment it looked like he intended to lie about it. Draco put his hands on his hips. “The truth, Harry. What does it say?”

“It says ‘neither can live while the other survives’. About me and Voldemort.”

Draco shrugged. “Then I guess we’ll just have to make sure that Voldemort doesn’t survive, then. How difficult can it be to find a bunch of horcruxes? We already know that at least one is gone.” He hated to think of the fact that Harry had actually died last year, but at least now he knew that a bit of good had come out of it, even though he would have chosen any other way to get rid of that soul piece if he could have. “We’re going to be fine, Harry. We can do this, together. I promise.” He held out his hand, and Harry put the prophecy back on the shelf before taking the offered hand, and following Draco back to his father. “We’re ready to go now.”

Lucius nodded, and led the boys out of the department, and back to the manor. When they got there, Lucius politely asked Draco if he could speak to Harry alone for a moment. Draco agreed, even though he wasn’t sure that this was such a good idea, and headed out into the hall to wait. 

When Harry finally stepped outside, he had a somewhat confused look on his face. “What? What did he say?”

“He… apologized to me?” Then he shrugged. “Come on, let’s go do something fun. This summer isn’t going to last forever.” Then he pulled Draco towards the floo so that they could go back to his place.

Draco paused in the sitting room. “Maybe we could hang out here, actually? Just for a little while, and only if it doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”

Harry just offered up one of his adorable smiles. “Honestly, Draco, I’d think you’d have realized it by now. Anywhere is fine by me, as long as we’re together while we’re there.”

It felt like Draco’s heart was going to beat right out of his chest. He knew that there was still a lot of things to worry about in the future, but for right now, he was determined to just be happy.


End file.
